December Legislative…Daniel Nnorth and Claudia Schott

AARP’s current campaign in Congress is in regards to the new law that was signed in August of this year. It included two improvements to Medicare Part D that AARP is pleased with – closed the donut hole a year earlier and permanently increased the discount that brand-name drug companies have to provide to beneficiaries in the donut hole from 50% to 70%. The higher discount from Pharma companies will help get beneficiaries out of the donut hole and into catastrophic coverage faster, where their costs will go down significantly.

AARP is asking its members (that’s us) to call our Representatives and Senators to let them know that we want the lower prices and costs; we NEED those lower prices. They need to stop kowtowing to those big Pharmas and put us first. And we certainly do not need any more lame-duck sessions… (But first, you might want to thank them for the improvement they have already made.)

For Our Representatives:

Older Americans continue to struggle to afford their medications. The average Part D enrollee takes 4.5 medications a month and the median annual income for Medicare beneficiaries is $26,000–while brand-name drug prices rose four times the rate of inflation in 2017. We know that Pharma is doing everything they can to rollback the discounts in the lame-duck session and we need your help again to protect these improvements. Instead of raising costs on seniors, we need to build upon this progress and do more to lower drug prices and costs.

For Our Senators:

Drug companies are trying to get you to break the deal so they can raise seniors’ drug costs and boost their profits. We need you to protect seniors and not Pharma profits. We know that Pharma is lobbying behind closed doors to get members of Congress to help boost their profits and stick seniors with higher drug costs. This is yet another way that drug companies are boosting their profits and forcing American consumers to continue paying the highest drug prices in the world. Protecting Profits: Drug companies are protecting their profits and spending millions on lobbying and TV ads in order to protect their monopolies, control prices, and raise your costs.

Do not let your voice go unheard. Call, write, email your Representative and Senators. Let them know we still have a long way to go.